1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to novel compositions comprising asbestos fibers and blends of latexes which are comprised of a synthetic rubber and a carboxylated copolymer which have been found to impart solvent or plasticizer resistance to asbestos-containing flooring felts and gasket material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Asbestos flooring sheets have commonly had marginal to poor resistance to the phthalate plasticizer used in the polyvinyl chloride coating applied to the surface of the asbestos sheet. Typically such systems would absorb up to 80% of their weight of plasticizers and they would lose over 80% of their original physical properties and become too weak to process. For example, if a coated sheet was left threaded through a coating machine overnight, the sheet would break at start-up the following day and rethreading would be necessary. The resulting loss in time was costly and unnecessary.